ramen rating: sapporo ichiban

Quick, describe the taste of chicken to someone who’s never had chicken before…having trouble?

Just as chicken seems to be one of the lowest common denominators in food flavors, so is the “instant ramen-ness” of Sapporo Ichiban’s original flavor. The “original” flavor doesn’t belong to the typical ramen flavor groups: it’s not shoyu, not tonkotsu, not shio, not miso. There is a slight miso-ness to the soup base flavor, but it’s barely discernable underneath the barrage of onion-ness, white pepper-ness, MSG-ness, and the plain original-ness of Sapporo Ichiban’s popular instant ramen. The curly instant brick noodles with a good chewy texture and the non-descript tangy aftertaste rounds out Sapporo Ichiban’s Original flavor experience. Ramen purists will turn up their noses at this instant ramen, but to a whole generation of college students and anyone who’s ever been on a tight food budget, this is a decent, affordable, and welcome alternative to Top Ramen.

Hi Ryan, I’ve been eating this since I was a kid too. To me, 5/10 is “average” so it’s still “above average” (yeah, I know that kind of thinking wouldn’t cut it in school, but anyway…) I still like it, but try some other brands, especially the ones available in Japanese supermarkets if there’re any in your area. You might be pleasantly surprised!

I’ve been reading a lot of ramen review sites, and it seems like there is a substantial difference between Sapporo Ichiban Original (haven’t eaten; no Japanese anywhere on the block) and Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein (absolutely LOVE; mostly Japanese, thereby making it more “authentic”.) I strongly suggest that, instead of the American-ized version, you seek out the Chow Mein version, which has a distinctly different packaging.

@Michael: Thanks for the tip. Yeah, “chow mein” is usually very different from “ramen.” I like both, and also yakisoba. Heck, I like just about every kind of noodles. Maybe I’ll review some chow mein in the future. Hmm…